“Lucky guess.”
Seward’s voice could not negate the feelings of relief and satisfaction Jaikus felt at seeing the wall slide open.
“Way to go, Jaik!” Reneeke’s shout of congratulations, on the other hand, did much to bolster those feelings.
“Yes. Well done indeed.” Charka came up from behind and slapped him on the back. Gazing into the opening, he asked, “Now, what do we have here?”
The opening of the door revealed a passage equally as large and well formed as the one in which they now stood. A pair of torch sconces sat as sentinels several feet from the opening, one to either side. Both were empty.
“Looks like a passageway,” Jaikus replied.
Charka nodded. “Let’s see where it goes.” He then gave Jaikus a slight nudge to get him moving.
Relief and satisfaction quickly gave way to nervousness and fear as he once again proceeded into the unknown. Shining the light before him, he moved to, and then through, the newly formed opening.
After his last experience, he gave the floor a much greater scrutiny. Though how to tell if there were more loose pressure plates similar to those encountered before was something about which he hadn't the faintest clue.
Upon reaching the pair of sconces, the light from the lantern revealed another pair farther down. He was beginning to wonder if similar pairs would be encountered at regular intervals when the floor dropped out from beneath him.
A cry of fear escaped him as he started to plummet. Arms and legs flailing to find any means by which to halt his fall, he felt the rope about his middle snap taut. The abrupt halt caused him to slam into the side of the shaft. Then he heard from above. “Look out, Jaik!”
Horror filled him as he glanced up toward the call. Small sections of the walls to which the torch sconces were attached, were rotating outward and down. He had but a moment to ponder this new development before, from out of one sconce, a liquid gushed forth.
Twisting and pushing himself along the side of the shaft, Jaikus fought to avoid coming into contact with the liquid. Was it acid? Poison? An image flashed into his mind of the equipment in Keeler’s back room, the ones the smith had claimed an acid trap had destroyed.
Despite his best efforts, some of the liquid hit him as it passed. An involuntary cry and much contorted thrashing later, he realized it was not acid at all, but oil. Possibly lamp oil.
“Catch it!” he heard Charka yell.
Something else fell from above. Its basic shape was spherical, but misshapen. He tried to do as instructed and catch it, but the object slipped through his grip and vanished into the darkness below. Two seconds later, he heard the object strike the bottom. There was a flash, then fire sprang to life forty feet below. As the smoke began to rise, he felt a tug on the rope. The others were drawing him from the shaft like a bucket from a well. When he reached the top, Reneeke was there to grab him by the hand and pull him the rest of the way out.
“Are you okay?” his friend asked, concern evident in his voice.
Smoke issuing from out of the shaft caused him to cough, but he nodded. “Yeah, Rene. I’m fine. Now I understand the need for the rope.”
Reneeke grinned. If Jaikus was able to quip a response like that, he would be fine.
Jaikus glanced back to where a good section of the passageway had fallen away. “Another trap?”
“Looks that way,” affirmed Charka. “You must have tripped it when you passed through.”
Reneeke shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t?” asked Charka.
“No, sir.” Gesturing back to the hole bellowing smoke, he said, “It doesn’t feel right. I think that Jaikus tripped the trap when he pressed the stones to access this secret area. They opened the way, true, but they also triggered this trap to catch the intruder after he passed through. By lulling us into believing any wards had been circumvented, we stumbled into the trap quite readily. Without the rope, Jaikus would be dead.”
“True enough,” Jaikus agreed.
“I don’t know about that,” Charka argued, then shrugged. “Anything’s possible.”
“It was a nasty one, too,” Seward added, appreciatively. “Not only was it designed to drop the intruder down a pit, but it poured oil and dropped a Pyra stone to finish the job.”
“Is that what that was?” Jaikus questioned. “A Pyra stone?” He recalled someone shouting for him to catch the falling object, which he had failed to do.
Charka nodded. “That it was. Strike a Pyra stone hard enough, and it will ignite.”
“So that was how the oil caught fire?”
“Exactly. When the Pyra stone hit the bottom, it did so with enough force to cause it to ignite and the oil went up in flames.”
Jaikus swallowed hard. “If it hadn’t been for the rope…”
“You would have been roasted alive. Provided of course that the fall hadn’t killed you first.”
“Wicked,” Reneeke exclaimed. “Oh, that reminds me, Bella said he would take any Pyra stones you find. Claimed to have a buyer wanting some.”
Charka grinned. “I’m sure he would. They are in high demand by the magic users. Am I not right, Kate?”
“You are. The Tower always pays well for such.”
“Maybe there are more where that one came from?” Reneeke suggested. Glancing toward where the section of the walls had settled before dropping their lethal cargo, he couldn’t see any means to access the inner workings of the trap.
Seward shook his head. “You would have to find the trap’s back side. The stones are worth some gold to be sure, but not enough to warrant us wasting our time trying to get to them.”
“Indeed,” Charka agreed. Coming to Jaikus, the Troupe leader asked, “Are you able to continue?”
Jaikus nodded. “I think so. Just a little shaky.”
“I’ll continue as Springer for the next bit,” Reneeke offered.
“Very well. That may be for the best.”
“Thanks,” Jaikus said as he untied the rope from around his middle and handed it to his friend.
“No problem.”
Once the rope was securely in place, Reneeke moved to the edge of the shaft. He could readily leap the four foot gap to the other side. But before he did, he couldn’t help but look down at what was left of the fire burning far below. Gauging the distance to the bottom at around sixty feet, he was glad that Charka had insisted they use the rope. Without it, Jaikus wouldn’t have fared nearly so well.
About to leap across, he paused when a thought occurred to him. Glancing over his shoulder toward Charka, he said, “I wonder if there is anything at the bottom of this pit.”
Seward laughed. “They wouldn’t stash their treasure in such a place.”
“That’s not what I was thinking,” he explained. “Perhaps Jaikus wasn’t the first to run afoul of this trap. Could it be possible that someone else happened this way in the past? What’s left of them could be lying down below.”
“They’d be nothing but dust by now,” replied Charka. “It would have to be centuries since the last person wandered these passages.”
“I wasn’t thinking about their body, but what they may have had on them; treasure, and what-not.”
A calculating look appeared in Charka’s eyes. “Can you see anything down there?”
Reneeke glanced back down the shaft. “I can see shadows in the firelight, but nothing definite.” Grabbing hold of the rope already tied to him, he shook it then asked, “Want me to take a look?”
Charka nodded. “Might be worth the time. Go ahead.”
Seward joined him on holding the rope as Reneeke moved into position. With one hand holding it, and the other gripping the lantern, Reneeke scooted over the edge. As his weight came full upon the rope, he glanced to the two holding him secure and nodded.
Down into the shaft he went. Charka and Seward let out the rope slowly, keeping his descent steady and manageable. Jaikus stood at the lip with Lady Kate to observe his
progress.
Smoke continued rising from the shaft, though it was beginning to taper off now that most of the oil had been burned off. In the light of the dying fires, Jaikus and Lady Kate could see that the bottom of the shaft was littered with debris.
“Your friend has a good head for this business.”
Jaikus nodded. “Reneeke has always been smart. Or perhaps creative would be a better way to describe him. You can always count on him to approach a problem in a way unexpected. Often, advantageously.”
Below, Reneeke had reached the halfway point. “He’s halfway there,” she told the two playing out the rope. “How is the rope holding out?”
“I think we may have enough,” Charka replied. Panning out more, he and Seward kept lowering the young Springer closer to the bottom.
In the shaft, Reneeke was close enough now to direct the lantern’s light downward to reveal what treasures might await at the shaft’s bottom. The smoke had continued dissipating until now it was barely a hindrance.
Three sets of bones laid in various states of repose across the bottom. Two were human, one was not. Of the humans, one had a cracked skull while the other looked to have broken his leg upon impact. He wasn’t sure what the nonhuman one may have been, but there was a sword lying across its midsection indicating the creature had been sentient. Reneeke was fairly certain the sword did not belong to the two human skeletons as they each had swords of their own.
His feet alighted upon the stone bottom and the rope grew slack. “I’m here!” he hollered.
“Anything?” came Charka’s question.
“Yes! Give me a moment and I’ll give you a full inventory.” He looked at the glitter of coins and jewels that laid scattered about, as well as several other items that he wasn’t sure what they were. “Toss down my pack!” A moment later, he saw the brown leather pack freefalling toward him. Once he had it, he began scooping up valuables.
The human skeleton’s swords were in bad repair. As pitted and rusted as they were, Reneeke thought that even Keeler would refuse them. He stepped on the blade of one and felt it crumble beneath his foot. How long would it take for a blade to be reduced to such a state? Centuries? Longer? He may never know.
On the other hand, the blade of the nonhuman was still in good shape. It looked rather plain with a simple, unadorned crossguard. There was no filigree or anything else that might indicate it to be more than a simple blade. Taking the sword, he noticed that it felt lighter and better balanced than the one he carried. Running his finger down the business end he discovered that it still held an edge. Reneeke removed his blade from its scabbard and slid the new one in. The fit was a bit loose as this new blade was slightly narrower, but it would work. Since his old sword wasn’t worth much, he left it lying on the floor of the shaft. He felt certain Charka would not begrudge him this new blade.
The glitter of gold drew his attention to the skeletal hand of one of the humans. Two rings rested upon the bony appendages. One was a plain, golden band, and the other was silver bearing a ruby set in white gold. He knew Charka would like the second one.
Once he had gleaned everything of value from among the misfortunate trio that had long ago succumbed to the trap far above, he hollered that he was ready to be pulled up.
“Excellent job,” Charka praised when Reneeke emptied the contents of the pack onto the passageway floor. And as he had thought, Charka zeroed in on the ring with the ruby. “Yes. Excellent indeed.”
Lady Kate on the other hand was more interested in the objects gathered along with the coins and jewels. There were four: a six inch branch that looked like it had been taken from a willow tree; a crystal orb whose center was the color of aquamarine; and a pair of black, onyx-like spheres that had irises etched into their surfaces. What her supposition may have been as to the properties, or lack thereof, of the items was forestalled by Charka’s announcement that it was time they continued on.
“We can give this all a more thorough examination upon our return to camp.”
Nodding, Lady Kate put her items into her pack while Charka and Seward divvied the rest between theirs.
“Doesn’t Reneeke get something?” Jaikus queried. He knew better than to ask about himself.
“Your shares will be given upon our return to Reakla.”
Jaikus was less than thrilled, but Reneeke took it in stride.
Pulling his new-found sword from the scabbard, he said, “I also found this.” Reneeke held it out for Charka’s inspection. “It was better than my previous one, so I took it.”
Charka nodded to Lady Kate who took possession of the sword. After the metal glowed blue for a brief time, she said, “There is a definite aura to it.”
“Magical?” Jaikus asked.
“To some degree, yes.” She handed it back to Reneeke. “I detect nothing malignant about its prowess.”
Reneeke glanced to Charka before taking the sword back.
“Keep it,” the Troupe leader said. “For without your insightful proposal of investigating the shaft, it would have remained there along with these other treasures. Consider it a bonus. It will not be accounted against your share of the profits.”
“Thank you.” Taking back the sword, he flashed Jaikus a grin before resheathing it. His friend was green with envy.
Charka shrugged.
“Can you tell what the, uh, aura does?” Jaikus asked Lady Kate.
“Not without expending much more time and effort. If he wishes to know more, he will have to do that on his own. Olaf’s would have scrolls to do the trick, though they are a bit pricey. It might be wiser to invest your take from this venture in armor and other items. Or maybe even training at the Guild should you become a member.”
“Other items? You mean like healing scrolls?”
She nodded. “Exactly. Olaf has something he calls the Basic Pack. It’s a dozen scrolls for less than it would cost to buy singly.”
“Thanks. We’ll keep that in mind.”
Over by the shaft, Reneeke leapt across the opening to land safely on the far side. Moving down only a short distance, he waited for the others to cross before continuing. Once Charka and Seward made the crossing, he directed the lantern’s light to shine down the passageway, then proceeded into the unknown.
The passageway continued straight for fifty feet before it was clear they approached another room. Slowing his pace, Reneeke scanned the floor ahead for irregularities as he went. He reached the room without incident.
“Got a room up here,” he hollered over his shoulder.
“Anything in it?” Hurrying forward, Charka came to stand behind his Springer.
Starting on the right, Reneeke panned the light slowly across the room. Midway through, he paused when a square, iron-bound wooden box entered the field of light. Its sides were composed of wood, though the wood was in an advanced state of decay. The box’s left side sagged noticeably.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
“A chest, maybe?” Reneeke queried.
“Definitely.” He then had Reneeke finish panning the light through the rest of the room, whose effort revealed another doorway in the wall to their left. The sagging, iron-bound box was the sole occupant of the room.
Bringing the light back to settle upon the chest, Reneeke asked, “Want me to check it out?”
“If you wouldn’t mind?”
Reneeke directed the light toward the floor before him, gave it a once over, then carefully began making his way across to the chest.
“It will be your turn when we continue,” Charka told his other Springer.
Jaikus merely nodded as he watched his friend’s progress.
It’s a trap!
That thought was very much on Reneeke’s mind. He may not have been a thief, but something like this chest, left all by itself out in the open, said something was not quite right. Logically, he couldn’t fathom why it would be left in such an exposed way, except perhaps, to tempt the unwary into doing something fatal. Li
ke what he was doing right now.
As his proximity to the chest narrowed, so too did his pace slow. He rotated the iris of the bulls-eye lantern in order to focus a more direct beam of light upon the chest. There were definite cracks in the wood, some large enough to expose that which was contained within. The lantern’s light was being reflected off of something metallic and bright from the inside.
The lock was an internal one with a keyhole waiting invitingly. He had no great desire to try and open the chest. To do so would most likely be extreme folly. Reneeke pictured himself being sprayed with acid, or perhaps struck by a dart covered in the most deadly of poisons, along with a dozen other situations bards had peppered their stories with. Each tale contained a more gruesome outcome than the one before.
He hadn’t realized he had remained motionless for an extended time until Seward hollered, “Are you going to open it or not?”
“Yeah!” he hollered back. Gazing at the keyhole, he added silently, but not this way.
Taking in the advanced decay and rot undermining the integrity of the chest, an idea came to mind. Moving around to the side of the chest, he kicked the rotten wood with as much strength as he could muster.
Splintering under the blow, the wood of the chest collapsed, but not entirely as the iron bands held bits and pieces of it together. He could now clearly see items of gold and silver forming a small pile within. Another kick completely obliterated what remained of the wooden chest. Simultaneously, a liquid spray exploded outward from the chest’s front to coat a sizeable area of the floor.
Reneeke began sifting through the remains of the chest as the others entered the room and approached. He glanced to Charka, grinned, and asked, “Did I do that right?”
Laughing, Charka nodded. “Boy, you did that perfectly. We’ll make an adventurer out of you yet.”
There were five more of the golden disks, six gems of varying sizes and colors, what once had been a book but all that was left was the hard, leather binding that had bound the pages together, and a dagger long succumbed to the ravages of time and rust.
Charka divided the booty between himself, Seward and Lady Kate. Jaikus couldn’t help but look longingly at the treasure his earlier misjudgment would probably keep him from ever sharing. He knew that at least Reneeke would receive a part, and that his friend would share with him.
Coming to Reneeke’s side, he started untying the rope from around his friend. “My turn.”
“You know, Jaik, this is easier than they led us to believe.”
“So far, I would have to agree with you. But we aren’t out of it yet.” He glanced to the dark doorway he would be leading the others through. “The worst could be yet to come.”
“If we keep our wits and do nothing stupid, I believe we will survive this.”
“Rene, I sure hope so.”
Securing the rope around his middle, he then waited for the signal from Charka for him to get going. When it came, Reneeke moved to the rear with Lady Kate, and Jaikus headed for the doorway.
Another passageway made a quick left turn not far from the room, then continued unabated for only a short distance before coming to where it widened to twice its former size. Three pedestals sat centered in the passageway, three feet apart. Made from gray marble, they were but two feet in height. Atop each sat a small statuette. The one atop the first pedestal was of a miniature, naked man; its face similar to that of the faces carved on the walls. The second statuette was of a little tree, possibly oak. On the last pedestal rested a simple, three inch silver cylinder. Dark runes were inscribed upon its surface.
Jaikus came to a stop a good six feet before the first pedestal. “What do you make of this?”
The others came up behind him and looked at the naked man, the tree, and the cylinder.
“Decorations perhaps?” Reneeke suggested.
Charka didn’t immediately answer. “It’s possible. Kate?”
“There is definitely magic at work here,” she replied after a moment of spell casting.
“I don’t suppose it’s the good, helpful kind of magic?” Jaikus asked.
“No, it isn’t.” Turning her attention upon the young Springer, she said, “To put it bluntly, it’s more the ‘You come close and I’ll fry you’ kind.”
“Wonderful,” Jaikus groaned.
Shining the light so it illuminated the passageway beyond the three statue-bearing pedestals, he saw where the walls again narrowed, bringing the passageway back to its original width.
Charka kept silent as he contemplated what they should do. The words of Lady Kate weighed heavily upon him. He desperately desired to find out what lay at the end of this passageway, but he didn’t want to needlessly throw away the lives of his Springers. True, that’s what they were there for, but he had just enough of a conscience not to do so simply because he could.
Turning to Lady Kate, he asked, “Is it passive?”
“The magic?” she asked. When he nodded, she said, “I can’t be sure. What I can be certain of is that it’s strong, and that it permeates the area in and around the three pedestals. It may react if we try to pass, or it may react only if we move the statuettes, or it may not react at all. But I get the feeling, that should the magic react, it will be bad. Very bad.”
Face turning grim, he struggled with vying emotions: greed and caution. In the end, greed won out. He glanced to Lady Kate and she could see the decision in his eyes.
“You can’t.”
“It’s what we are here for,” he replied. Turning to Jaikus, he indicated for the Springer to continue down the passageway.
Jaikus looked at him with undisguised horror. “You can’t be serious. After what she just said?”
“Merely pass through,” Charka instructed. “Touch nothing.”
“But…”
“But nothing. Fulfill your contract, or leave.” He met Jaikus’ gaze with one of grim determination.
A quick glance to Reneeke showed him to be just as fearful as was Jaikus. “Good luck,” he said.
“Thanks.” Mouth dry from nervousness and fear, Jaikus almost hadn’t been able to get that single word out. Turning toward the pedestals, he could feel his legs trembling.
“…it’s more the ‘You come close and I’ll fry you’ kind.”
Lady Kate’s words kept running through his mind. Doing his best to banish them to the nethermost recesses, he took a step forward.
“Hug the wall,” she advised. “Keep as far away from them as you can.”
“I…I’ll do that,” he stammered, without bothering to glance back.
He took another step forward, moving closer to the wall at the same time. Eyes glued to the statue of the naked man, he cautiously took a third.
Was it his imagination, or were the naked man’s eyes tracking his movements? His fourth step brought him within arm’s reach of the pedestal. The overactiveness of his imagination was dispelled when he moved out of the naked man’s line of sight. Having made it this far with no ill affects, he took two more quick steps, then paused.
Glancing back to where the others waited, he saw Charka, Seward, and Reneeke all maintaining a grip on the rope. Just behind them stood Lady Kate. In her right hand she held a black, rune-inscribed wand.
“You’re doing great,” Reneeke said encouragingly.
Moving once again, he quickly came abreast of the tree statuette. Back when he stood with the others, it had looked like a regular, normal tree. But now that he was closer, could see that the leaves of the tree were in an advanced state of wilting. Slightly curled in on themselves, each leaf looked like a hand, frozen in the act of curling in on itself to form a fist. The entire aspect of the diminutive tree disturbed him far more than had the naked little man.
Several rapid steps took him past the tree and brought him near the final pedestal atop which rested the silver cylinder. Passing his eyes over the dark runes marring its surface made his skin crawl. Of the three, the cylinder unnerved him the most. Why it should be s
o, he couldn’t even hazard a guess. Moving past, he was just glad the three pedestals and their objects were behind him. And that he was still alive.
“I made it!” he cried.
Back at the other end, Charka had Seward follow, with Reneeke waiting until Seward traversed the pedestaled area and joined Jaikus, before following.
While waiting for the others, Jaikus directed the lantern’s light into the as yet unplumbed section of the passageway, curious to see what may lie ahead. He was surprised to discover that the light was being reflected, or rather refracted, by a glittering circle just beyond the lantern’s reach.
“Look at this,” he said to Seward when the man reached his side.
“Hmmm, interesting,” was all the reply he received.
The circle drew his gaze. Curiosity impelled him to take a step forward. But the rope drew taut, preventing him from proceeding.
Seward jerked the rope another two times. “Wait for the others.”
Charka was the last to pass through the pedestaled area. When he arrived and saw the circle glittering farther down the passageway, he indicated for Jaikus to continue.
His Springer nodded, took two steps forward, then collapsed.
“Jaik!”
Reneeke shouted his friend’s name as he raced forward to render what aid he could. Charka grabbed him by one of his pack straps and jerked him back. “Hold up there, lad.”
“But Jaik needs me!”
Ignoring him, the Troupe leader signaled Lady Kate who cast a spell toward their unconscious Springer. “Dart,” she announced.
“Haul him back.” Pulling the rope quickly, Charka, Seward, and Reneeke dragged Jaikus back to where they stood.
Lady Kate had already drawn forth a small flask from her pack by then and knelt down next to Jaikus’ head. Seward knelt on the other side and held open the Springer’s mouth while she poured a portion of the flask’s contents through the parted lips. She then stoppered the flask and set it aside.
“Here’s the culprit,” Charka said as he drew forth a small dart from where it lay embedded within Jaikus’ neck. “He must have triggered some sort of trap.” To Seward he said, “See if you can find it.”
Seward nodded then moved to carry out his leader’s request.
Reneeke knelt beside Lady Kate. “Will he die?”
“Not if I can help it. I gave him a powerful antidote, which negates the effects of almost all poisons.”
He looked to her with great anxiety. “What if the poison isn’t one of the ones it negates?”
She turned a serious look upon him. “Let us hope that is not the case.” Returning her attention to the one lying before her, she moved his head to expose the area just below his left ear that had been struck, and gasped.
It was swollen an angry red with a single, dark vein gradually making its way downward along his neck. They watched as it drew ever closer to where the neck merged with the upper body.
“Give him the rest of it,” Charka said.
This time, Reneeke parted Jaikus’ lips while Lady Kate emptied the flask into him. Again, they turned his head to the side. The line of red had stopped its downward progression.
“It’s working,” Reneeke announced with relief.
Lady Kate wasn’t so assured of the potion’s effectiveness, but kept her concerns to herself.
“Come on, Jaik.”
Then, the line slowly began to fade and the swelling subsided. In a matter of minutes, all redness was gone. When his eyes fluttered open, Lady Kate said, “Thank the gods.”
Feeling weak as a kitten, Jaikus glanced from face to face, uncertain as to how he came to be lying on the passageway floor. “What happened?”
“You were hit by a poisoned dart,” Lady Kate explained.
“Yeah, man. It was ugly. But she fixed you up with an antidote. Now you’re right as rain.” Reneeke couldn’t help but smile.
“We’ll take a short break so you can recover your strength,” said Charka. To Lady Kate he added, “If he hasn’t recovered in that time, give him a healing draught as well.”
She nodded, then had Reneeke help her in moving Jaikus against the wall where he could sit in greater comfort. Producing the less than appetizing trail rations, she handed them to her two Springers and they ate while Seward worked to discover the mechanism by which Jaikus had triggered the dart.
Chapter 10